Listen: Bell X1 “Velcro”

Irish rockers Bell X1 have just returned with their fifth studio album, Bloodless Coup, out now on Yep Roc in the U.S. and their own label, Bellyup, in Europe. “Velcro” is a good mix of crunchy keyboards and rock-solid drums, with singer Paul Noonan setting his sights on U2′s great Irish tradition of anthem rock. Invoking a legion of disparate 21st century things – “a field in Texas,” a six-year old drummer on YouTube, explosive residue on the strings of his guitar – Noonan’s on a search for the “stuff that binds us.” “I’ll be your Velcro,” he croons on the song’s ascending chorus, giving new meaning to the everyday hook-and-loop fastener.